Arizona quarters were launched into circulation yesterday with the United States Mint release ceremony on the lawn of the state Capital in Phoenix.

The ceremony was full of local excitement with a Mariachi band playing, free mint ice-cream drumsticks and free Arizona quarters for everyone 18 and under. Earlier, United States Mint Director Ed Moy commented,

"Children make up a good portion of the 147 million Americans plugging the coins into their commemorative folios or folders. This has educated a whole generation of Americans in geography and history."

The Arizona state quarter is strikingly attractive with its Grand Canyon and saguaro cactus design theme. Over 4,200 quarter design suggestions from across the state were sent to the 24-member Arizona State Quarter Commission appointed by Governor Janet Napolitano.

From those, five designs rendered were created by United States Mint artists, and the final one selected as the template for some 500 million minted Arizona quarters.

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A few days ago the U.S. Mint announced the release ceremony for the Arizona state quarter. On the same day of the ceremony, June 2, 2008, millions of Arizona state quarters will have been minted.

Demand dictates how many Arizona quarters there will be in total. Based on previous state quarter production figures, around 500 million is a likely bet.

Getting hundreds of millions of coins into circulation takes time. Instead of waiting for the Arizona quarter, collectors will have the opportunity to buy special Mint-sewn bags and a two-roll set of them directly from the U.S. Mint.

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Arizona, the Grand Canyon state, will launch their grand quarter into circulation starting with an official release ceremony on June 2, 2008. The public invited event will host Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and United States Mint Director Ed Moy and includes several planned activities. There is also a special Coin Collectors Forum on the day prior.

The Arizona commemorative quarter is the third for this year and the 48th quarter-dollar in the 50 State Quarters® Program set for release. Arizona was the 48th state to be admitted into the Union on February 14, 1912. 

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Register today to learn more about Arizona’s rich numismatic heritage with Collecting United States National Bank Notes, with an Emphasis on Arizona Notes and Arizona Mining Stocks, Ingots and Pioneer Minor Coinage. These are just two ANA School of Numismatics courses available before and during the Phoenix National Money Show™, March 7-9.

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2008 State Quarter Proof Sets are now for sale by the United States Mint. The set cointains five proof quarters with their commemorative designs honoring:

• Oklahoma
• New Mexico
• Arizona
• Alaska
• Hawaii

These states represent the last to be honored in the 50 State Quarters® Program - a ten year program that started back in 1999 with the release of a new state quarter design every 10 weeks.

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Today, November 27, the United States Mint released pictures of how the last state commemorative quarters will look. 2008 is the final year for the highly successful 50 State Quarters® Program - a program that has stimulated the excitement and the coin collecting spirit into millions.

The final five quarters and their pictures as shown from left to right are: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii.

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